Canadian League of Gamers announces Bell as Title Sponsor for Northern Arena, the first professional eSports League in Canada

TORONTO, July 21, 2016 /CNW/ - The Canadian League of Gamers, the company behind Northern Arena, a world-class eSports competition for professional gamers, has named Bell the League's Title Sponsor for 2016. The marketing partnership includes provision of Bell's industry-leading broadband network services to enable Canadian eSports teams to compete against the world's top talent as well as event coverage on Bell Media's TSN and RDS platforms.

"Canada has some of the most passionate gamers in the world. Hosting these amazing players at Northern Arena on Bell's powerful network is a perfect fit and brings Canada to the forefront of the international eSports scene," said Carl-Edwin Michel, the visionary behind Northern Arena and Co-Founder of the Canadian League of Gamers. "I can't wait to press play with the Canadian and international gaming elite and kick off Northern Arena's 2016 competitions."

"The sport for the digital generation "eSports" is exploding with interest, becoming one of the fastest growing markets in the world," said Greg Spievak, Co-Founder of the Canadian League of Gamers. "Our partnership with Bell will accelerate the growth of eSports in Canada and enhance the audience experience."

The worldwide eSports market is skyrocketing, estimated to generate $1.3 billion in gross revenues by 2018, with the global eSports audience expected to exceed 427 million by 2019.

"Bell is proud to partner with Northern Arena's eSports competition and bring to gamers Canada's most advanced broadband products and services," said Loring Phinney, Vice President of Corporate Marketing at Bell. "With Bell's LTE Advanced and Gigabit Fibe network services, gamers will experience the fastest speeds and incredible response times for both mobile and online multiplayer games."

Hosting live and online qualifiers throughout the year, Northern Arena will connect millions of gaming fans from Canada and around the world with competitions streamed globally and live spectator events across the country.

From September 1- 4 at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Northern Arena will co-locate with Fan Expo and the 120,000+ genre and gaming superfans that attend the event every year. In November, Northern Arena's 2016 LAN Grand Finals will take place in Montréal in conjunction with the 7th Annual Canadian Video Game Awards.

Professional competitions will host 8-32 teams per event in a PC, console or mobile game tournament. Upcoming pros will have the chance to enter the Final or Grand Final Championships in an open spot through "Call of the North," Northern Arena's semi-professional online qualifying competitions, providing a unique opportunity to discover new talent in Canadian eSports. Call of the North's first qualifier will be livestreamed on Twitch.tv July 23-24. Northern Arena's live events will allow fans to connect with professional eSports stars and see them in action, competing for prize pools of more than $200,000.

About the Canadian League of Gamers In 2015, Greg Spievak and Carl-Edwin Michel launched the Canadian League of Gamers as a world-class venture for video game players, fans, sponsors and broadcasters in the growing eSports market in Canada. The league hosts finals and qualifiers across the country throughout the year, including the nation's largest live and streamed eSports events. The goal is to bring professional and non-professional gamers together in an official league that offers a structured, professionally managed and credible platform to promote eSports in North America and throughout the world.